An Ed to Remember
by Cassadiller
Summary: Edd wakes up to find his best friends acting strange. He's determined to find the cause of this odd behavior, but it's rather difficult when everyone else seems to be in on a big secret. Poor Edd just wants to finish his chores sometime today. (Post-BPS)
1. Chapter 1

_Okay, I'm sure my current followers are disappointed that this is not a long-awaited update to "Shades of Green", and for that I apologize. I have about...1/3 of the next chapter written, so it's not like I haven't worked on it at all, ahaha. But I have recently rediscovered another childhood favorite, and I've been indulging myself in the nostalgia. Then this little idea came to my head, and I thought it was just too cute to pass up. ^^'_

_It will be a relatively short fic, probably 3 chapters at most. I'm mostly just seeing if I can even write EEnE fanfiction. This show is just on a whole other level in...pretty much every aspect. XD_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

It was the beginning of another routine day in the neat blue house at the edge of the _cul de sac_. The upstairs bedroom was quiet, save for the soft ticking of a clock and the high-pitched snoring coming from the small form within the properly labeled bed. Only the form's head and fingers poked out from under the covers, along with the trademark beanie that was perched perfectly on top, not at all ruffled by the boy's slumber.

Suddenly, the boy's eyes cracked open and he sat up, as he had done every morning for as long as he can remember. Rubbing the lingering sleepiness from his eyes, he began his morning rituals.

"Messy, messy, messy," he mumbled as he smoothed out every last wrinkle in the bed sheets. Some (everyone) would say this sort of care was unnecessary, for it was only a bed and would just become messy again the next morning. While they weren't wrong on that matter, the preteen firmly believed that upholding a tidy sleeping space yielded the most comfort when it was much needed at night. Besides, it's not like his compulsive tendencies would allow him to cut corners anytime soon.

Once that was done, he stepped towards the center of his room and thoroughly analyzed everything his eyes laid upon. Finally satisfied that everything was in order – just as it had been the night before – he allowed himself to head for the bathroom and continue preparing for the day. Although the boy hadn't specifically planned anything for today, he was positive that his friend had another ridiculous scam in the works that he was itching to put into action. The preteen smirked at the thought; Eddy had indeed not quite grown out of scamming, despite having been integrated into the social circle of the other _cul de sac_ children. Although nowadays their scams were much more honest and less harmful, which the boy was thankful for. Really, they only still referred to their ploys as "scams" out of habit, but that was only shared between the trio and never in front of the others.

The boy stepped out of the shower, and after drying himself off, prepared to brush his teeth. Yes, regardless of the term used, there was almost always some sort of contraption involved, which would require his own expertise to get the job done. Besides, on the off chance that today wouldn't be a scam-filled one, well…it wouldn't take long for him to find something to study and further educate himself.

However, he couldn't shake off this nagging feeling that something important was going on today. He couldn't pinpoint the reason, and the anxiety was already beginning to well up inside of him. The preteen clutched his red socks a little harder than usual while slipping them on his feet. No need to fret, he reminded himself. A well-balanced breakfast would be sure to jog his memory.

He cautiously made his way down the stairs, only to nearly tumble down the last few steps as a crash resounded from his kitchen. Panicked, the boy rushed to the entrance to survey the damage and unveil the intruder. To his relief, nothing appeared to be broken, and the only mess in the room was restricted to the countertop. He then stared dumbfounded at _who_ was standing at said countertop, with the help of a footstool.

"Hey Sockhead, 'bout time you got up," the shorter boy called over his shoulder while he added ingredients into the pan on the stove.

"Eddy?"

The sound of silverware clattering rang throughout the kitchen before another boy poked his head out of one of the drawers. "Mornin' Double D!" he chirped and waved happily.

"Ed?" The hat-clad boy turned his gaze back to Eddy. "W-what are you two doing-"

Edd suddenly felt his legs abandon him as Ed circled around and shoved a chair into him from behind. Edd was forced to sit down and grip the edges as he was pushed around the kitchen at a speed that only Ed's strength could accomplish. Said boy laughed gleefully as they zoomed across the tile, while the other yelped in fear. They finally came to a stop at the table. Or rather, Ed came to a stop and Edd's stomach collided with the table's edge, knocking the wind out of him.

"The seagull has landed!" Ed chimed before galloping back over to Eddy's side.

Once Edd was done gasping, he sat up and glanced wearily at his friends, trying his best to ignore the clutter surrounding the stovetop. "Not that I'm not happy to see you gentlemen," he began, "But may I ask why you've intruded my home at such an early hour?" Nine o'clock was hardly early for the smartest Ed (though he did give himself some leeway on the weekends), but it was abnormal for the other two to even be awake around this time.

"Relax, Double D," Eddy replied, although it didn't reassure the boy in the slightest. He grabbed a plate and tossed it behind him. "Here, catch!"

"Eddy!" Edd cried out in horror as he watched the piece of Mother's precious china soar through the air. He leaped out of his chair to catch it, and after much fumbling, was miraculously successful. With a heavy sigh of relief, Edd gently placed the dish on the table in front of him and slumped back into his seat.

Eddy smirked at his cue, sliding the spatula underneath the omelet and flinging it in Edd's direction. The middle Ed only watched this time as the food made a perfect arch and landed right in the center of his plate.

"Oh, oh! Don't forget about me!" Ed's voice rang out as he bounded over to the table. He lifted one end of the omelet and slipped 2 slices of buttered toast about halfway underneath. "Snug as a bug in a rug."

Edd stared down at the meal that had been presented to him, his confusion flickering to a grimace before settling into a small smile. The omelet was filled with nothing but bacon, sausage, and other meats; not to mention it was way too greasy for the boy's liking. The over-buttered toast slices also had a bit of gravy on them, in the form of little smiley faces that Ed most likely finger-painted on.

It was a far cry from healthy, but it was the most endearing food that Edd had ever seen.

He turned to his dear friends once more. "Well, this is incredibly kind of you two!" As grateful as he was for their unexpected gift, Edd couldn't help but let confusion slip back into his features again. "Eh...what's the occasion?" Surely there had to be a reason for such generosity committed by his usually selfish friend. Although Eddy's self-serving ways have waned a bit since they've finally been accepted by their peers, it's been a gradual process.

The devious grin on Eddy's face only grew wider. "Oh, like _you_ don't know," he replied playfully. He then exchanged glances with Ed, the two of them sharing an expression reminiscent of two teenage girls who had just discovered a juicy secret.

Edd mentally slapped himself. Of course he wouldn't get a straight answer. The best he could do at this point was to play along with whatever their scheme was until it was revealed to him. Rolling his eyes, he picked up his fork to start on breakfast. "Well whatever it is you have planned, surely it can wait until I've completed the chores Mother and Father have assigned to me today." Edd plucked a sticky note off of the small decorative vase in front of him, vaguely skimming over Mother's reminder to tend to her petunias out back.

The yellow slip of paper was quickly snatched away by Eddy. "No can do, Double D."

"But Eddy, Mother and Father have entrusted me to complete these tasks for them," he protested. "I can't bear to imagine their disappointment if I were to disobey! Not to mention the house would fall into discord!"

Eddy grabbed the boy's black hat and slid it down over his face, the sudden violation of personal space silencing him. "Get off your soapbox; they're gonna get done." He threw an arm around Ed, who just kept grinning. "But Lumpy and I are gonna do 'em for ya!"

Edd paused in adjusting his beanie to stare at his friend incredulously. "P-pardon?!" Did he hear that correctly?

"You heard me; you're takin' the day off." He let go of Ed to hook his arm around the other boy's shoulders. "Think of it as our thanks for helpin' us find my brother. If the other kids didn't see how much of a jerk he was, we'd _still_ be on the run!"

He knew that was a lie. Kevin and the others arriving just in time to witness that spectacle was purely coincidental; Edd had nothing to do with that. However, in typical Eddy-fashion, the real reason was hidden in his words, and Edd immediately picked up on it. Joy swelled in his chest at what Eddy really meant: _"Thanks for sticking up for me back there."_

Edd couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as well. Eddy wasn't entirely wrong on the matter. He _was_ the one to take the initiative in analyzing the clues to the man's whereabouts, after all. He felt so touched that his dear friends wished to acknowledge his capabilities and appreciate his company, something that only seldom happened.

He was snapped out of his thoughts once he felt his chair being lifted up and carried off by Ed, the plate now tight in his grasp. Gratitude fizzled into apprehension as he remembered the situation at hand.

"Eddy, I appreciate your endeavors. Really, I do. But there must be another way to return the favor. Need I remind you of the last time you and Ed offered to assist me with chores? Nazz was most displeased with-"

He yelped as Ed tilted his chair and the boy was dumped unceremoniously onto his front porch. Edd unconsciously held his plate away from him, keeping his breakfast intact at the expense of bodily harm.

"Boy, Double D, you need to take a load off your tow truck," Ed exclaimed.

"Monobrow's right; _relax_. We got it all under control." Eddy picked up his lanky friend and began nudging him further from the door. "Go…I dunno, study some bugs or somethin'. Maybe there's some new butterfly eggs in those bushes over there."

Edd's eyes lit up at that. "Oh my, is there really?" He couldn't help himself. Studying insects from the larval stage onward was such a fascinating experience, especially so when the subject was in its natural environment.

The other two took this opportunity to head inside while their friend's gaze was focused on the neighboring shrubbery. With a low, "sucker" from Eddy, the door was slammed shut and the click of a lock was promptly heard.

Realizing that he had been duped, Edd rushed back to his door and twisted the knob with all his might, which wasn't much. "Eddy, open the door this instant!" He pounded his fist on the door when he was greeted with silence. "Eddy?" Still no response. "Ed?" he called out for his more easily persuaded friend. "Oh dear..." The very idea of those two in his house unsupervised did nothing to relieve his anxiety, if not worsened it.

Well, since he couldn't physically stop them, the very least he could do was offer a friendly reminder. "Be sure to clean the countertops with the blue bottle, not the white one!" With a defeated sigh, Edd seated himself on the porch steps and did the only other thing he could do: eat his breakfast and hope that his house was still in one piece by the end of all this.

* * *

_Yeah, I feel like I rambled a bit in this, but I wanted to try to establish the Eds' relationship to the other kids. I feel that they wouldn't give up scamming so easily; they've been doing it for years! Plus this relationship is the only way I felt I'd be able to make this story work, ahaha..._

_Again, this is more of an experiment than anything, but I hope it's still a somewhat-decent read. :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Okay, so this is might actually end up being 4 chapters instead of 3. Why do I always end up wanting to write more than I intended? XD_

_Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy. I know this is all experimental, but I still wish to make this a fairly good story._

* * *

"Yeesh, I thought he'd never leave," Eddy grumbled, hands finally leaving the door. He rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm himself up; he always hated how cold Edd's house was. He made a mental note to adjust the heater before the fun started.

Meanwhile, Ed was joyfully bouncing from foot to foot, eager to begin. "So what chores are we gonna do first, Eddy?"

"Uh, none!" Eddy scoffed, grabbing hold of Ed's unibrow and tugging him into the living room. "I only said that to get Sockhead outta the house."

"But Eddy," the taller boy whined, "We promised Double D!"

"Didja forget what we came here to do in the first place?" Eddy retorted, finally releasing his improbable grip on Ed. "We got somethin' even bigger planned, and once Double D sees it, he'll forget all about doin' those dumb chores."

Sniffling, Ed gave his friend the most pathetic puppy-dog look he could muster. He's been with his friends long enough to know that Eddy meant well, but Ed was also aware of how uptight Double D was when it came to household duties. This was indeed a big surprise, but Ed didn't want it to be tossed aside by the recipient all because of unfinished chores.

It didn't take long for Eddy's resolve to waver, then abandon him completely. "Fine," he said with a groan. "You can do his chores, but _I'm_ getting started on everything else." He stated the last bit as if he was the only one of the trio who ever did anything.

"Oh boy, oh boy!" Ed chirped, happy to have gotten his way. He bounded out of the kitchen and further into the house, grabbing handfuls of sticky notes along the way.

"And be quick about it; we're expectin' a full house soon!" Eddy called out over his shoulder as he cracked open one of the large cardboard boxes that he had snuck in beforehand. He swiftly released the contents from confinement and got straight to work.

* * *

Ed laughed with enthusiasm as he peeled through the halls, completing chores the best way he knew how, and placing the finished sticky notes somewhere on his body and out of the way. Dust the wall décor? Easily done with a swipe of his sleeve. Vacuum the carpets? Why bother when it could all be shoved under a rug? Clean the guest bathroom? Well, Ed actually didn't finish that one. Upon discovering the abundance of soap and other cleaning products stored in the closet, he decided the bathroom was clean enough as it was, and scurried back out in fear.

He now stood in his friend's basement, squinting at the neat handwriting that requested the laundry to be done. Ed's face broke out into a huge grin. This one was the easiest! He had seen his own mother clean clothes before, and by Ed's logic, that made him a laundry expert.

"It's bath time!" Ed cooed to the basket of clothing as he emptied it into the washing machine. After clumsily finding the switch that released the water, Ed looked around for the detergent. Technically it _was_ soap, but he was comforted by the fact that it was soap for clothing, not people. Once a box of detergent was in hand, he peeked inside to see the clothes now swirling lazily in the current. "Aww, they're swimming."

However, he paused, looking back at the box of detergent. How much of this stuff was he supposed to use again? He tried to think back to when he last watched his mom do this. He remembers her using a cup of some sort, and only using it once for each load. Would a cup really be enough, though? Ed glanced back at the wet laundry. Today was a special day, and he wanted these clothes to be extra clean for Double D. To make stuff extra clean, one would use more soap, right?

With a reassuring grin, he proudly tore open the top and emptied the entire box into the washing machine. The clothing was now hardly visible under the thick layer of detergent, which to Ed, meant every speck of dirt would obliterated. Just like the original zombie from _Zombie Fish Robots Attack_.

Ed slammed the now rattling appliance shut, and skipped away to complete the next task. "Double D will be so proud of me!"

* * *

"Double D Ed-boy?"

Edd was torn from his pondering as he found the blue-haired immigrant standing over him, brow quirked in mild confusion.

"Oh, hello Rolf." He smiled sheepishly, unsure of how long his neighbor had been standing there. "My apologies, Rolf. I seemed to have gotten lost in thought and failed to notice your approach."

"It must be dire, seeing as how you sit forlornly like the sack of Nana's discarded nail trimmings," the taller boy replied. Ignoring Edd's visible cringe to the image that was just given, Rolf set down the barrel he had been carrying and sat across from Edd. "Come, what troubles the Ed-boy?"

Edd smiled warmly at how the other was so willing to lend his ear. He then shifted on the porch step to resume thinking. "It's Ed and Eddy, I'm afraid. Why, just this morning they intruded my home and made me breakfast." He motioned to the now empty plate that sat beside him. "At first I was touched by their generosity, but mind you, said generosity is such a rare occurrence." Edd then gestured behind him to the front door. "But the most perplexing is that they insisted on completing housework for me, and have excluded me from my own home. This behavior is unusual, unexpected, and very unlike Ed and Eddy." As Edd finished his rambling, he looked back to Rolf, vaguely hoping for any insight.

After a moment of silence, Rolf broke into a carefree grin. "Oho, is that it? Rolf thinks Too-smart-for-his-own-good Ed-boy worries too much about such small matters."

Edd bit his lip while trying to piece his response together carefully. "Forgive me, Rolf, but I don't think you quite understand the gravity of the situation."

"Poppycock!" Rolf exclaimed. "There is nothing to fear. Double D Ed-boy is as high-strung as a slab of meat ripe for butchering."

Edd was about to protest again when a third voice interrupted him from across the street.

"Yo, Double D! C'mere for a sec."

He turned his attention towards another boy donning a red baseball cap and leaning casually against the bike in his garage. "One moment, please, Kevin. Rolf and I are in the middle of-"

Edd fell silent as he glanced back to the darker-skinned boy, who – along with the barrel – was nowhere to be found. He looked around in confusion. "…Rolf?" Concern began to ebb at him. It was common knowledge that Rolf's mannerisms were…eccentric, to say the least. But he would never just up and leave in the middle of a conversation.

"C'mon, Double Dork, I ain't got all day!"

Edd jumped at the nickname, despite it no longer carrying any malice. It was a hard habit to break, sadly.

"C-coming!" He hurried over to the redhead, not wanting to keep him waiting. Edd's eyes rested on the bike as he got closer, and he smiled. "Oh, you fixed it!"

Kevin grinned back and patted the handlebars lovingly. "It wasn't easy, but I got the parts you told me about, and now she's running just like how she used to!" The bike still had a few kinks in its frame and many scuff marks, but otherwise looked good as new. "You check to see if you had those special parts?"

Edd nodded, reaching a hand underneath his beanie. After a few seconds of searching, he pulled out a handful of small, unique looking parts. "I just so happened to have all of them. These should not only aid in keeping your bike intact, but also allow for much more efficient locomotion." He beamed as he spoke. It was a rare occasion to have such a casual interaction with any of the other kids, especially Kevin. Now that they were all on good terms with each other, these friendly conversations were happening more and more often, and it never failed to brighten Edd's mood.

"Choice." Kevin eagerly went to work, with Edd watching over in case further assistance was needed.

He pondered a bit more before finally asking, "Um, Kevin? Have you noticed anything strange about Ed and Eddy lately?"

"What, you mean stranger than usual?" Kevin joked. Upon seeing the concern on the other boy's face, he sighed lightly. "No, not really."

Edd sighed and began retelling his morning events to the redhead, who was only vaguely listening. Kevin subtly peered between the spokes of the tires to see Jimmy, Sarah, and Jonny heading towards the blue house across the street.

"…I just fear that they may have some elaborate hoax planned," Edd continued. "Honestly, I hoped that after our life-changing journey they would have ceased such juvenile behavior." He shuddered at the memory of the swamp. Despite making amends with the other two Eds afterwards, that prank still left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

Kevin scoffed to himself as he fixed the last part into place. "Well whatever it is, it's definitely not a prank."

Edd quirked a brow and tilted his head. "And how do you know for certain?"

Kevin's eyes widened a bit as he realized what he had said. "Uh, I don't. How should I know?" he replied a little too hastily. He fumbled a bit while mounting on his bike, yet still tried to act nonchalant. "F-forget I said anything. Later, dork." And with that, he pedaled out of his garage, leaving a bewildered Edd in the dust.

The beanie-clad boy could only scrunch his face in confusion as he wracked his brain for a logical explanation. First Rolf, and then Kevin…and Kevin seemed to know something that he didn't. That pushed Edd to investigate more than anything.

He left the redhead's garage in search of any other kids to interrogate. However, as he made his way to the center of it, he noticed how quiet the _cul de sac_ was. In fact, it was almost unnerving. There was no Nazz rollerblading, no Sarah and Jimmy playing in the front yard, not even any sign of Jonny getting himself stuck in a tree. The absolute stillness of the once lively environment immediately put the boy on edge.

…Where _was_ everyone?

* * *

_I should probably also mention that this takes place sometime after the whole "The Gourd" incident, since I'm sure there would have been one lol. So yeah, Jonny's back in the group and stuff._

_Also, "Zombie Fish Robots Attack" is based on an actual thing: a horror manga called Gyo. I feel it's something Ed would enjoy immensely. XD_


End file.
